Dr. Fauci - An American Hero - Was A Baller
Dr. Anthony Fauci is, of course, a critical figure in America and in the world now. As the long-time director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - he's served six Presidents, from Reagan to Trump - and now a member of the White House COVID-19 task force, he sits in an all-important position of leadership.
Dr. Fauci is also a baller.
The Wall Street Journal’s Ben Cohen writes:
"The basketball team at (New York's) Regis High School had a 1-16 record as the players entered a rival’s gym in the winter of 1958 fully expecting to leave with yet another loss. The other team’s star was a future NBA coach who would one day run the New York Knicks. Regis was led by a diminutive future doctor who would one day run the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.''
Dr. Fauci was the team captain of his high school basketball squad.
"Classic point guard, excellent ball-handler, pesky defender. Six of his classmates and teammates described him as a tenacious competitor in short shorts and striped socks whose feistiness on the court defied some parts of his personality and reflected others.''
Dr. Fauci's grandparents were Italian immigrants. His parents ran a pharmacy. He became a doctor after graduating from Cornell - first in his class.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has spoken a great deal about how each of us can be a "hero'' on the way to "America 2.0.'' (And is now hopeful of "sports in June.'') Our Richie Whitt writes here about a friend of his who is a nurse, on the front line of this war from inside a Dallas hospital. And Dr. Fauci? He's a hero, too ... but also a real person, with a normal background, a human background ... a basketball background.
